Eternal, classified by their powers

The Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Eternal introduces a new batch of heroes to an Earth that already feels overrun by guys with superpowers, but it also gives these new additions a very specific agenda that explains why they haven’t appeared in the last 20 Marvel movies. The 10 Eternals have been on Earth since the dawn of humanity, with an agenda that kept them out of the way of the Avengers and their various allies and enemies. The celestial Arashem put the Eternals on Earth and commanded them to stay away from the beeswax of humanity, in addition to fighting the Deviants, the shape-shifting monstrosities that might otherwise take over the planet. All Eternals have different abilities related to the manipulation of cosmic energy, and these powers aid them in their ongoing war.

However, when watching the scenes where the Eternals fight the Deviants, it’s hard to escape the idea that some of their cosmic abilities are strictly better than others. Many of their powers are pretty redundant – they fight well as a team, but in the great combat scenes, it’s pretty clear that some of these beautiful immortal gods are second attackers. Maybe everyone would kick butt in an X-Men team, but some Eternals abilities are simply more powerful, flexible, useful, or fun than others. So here’s a rundown of who really is the best and who is filling in the ranks.

10. Ajak (Salma Hayek)

Powers: healing, celestial communication

To be clear, all Eternals seem to be blessed with increased strength, durability, reflexes, and fighting abilities, to the point where they all compare to one another. Even Ajak, the leader of the group, seems to classify himself as a Black Widow level melee fighter, if he wants to mix with the Deviants.

But his cosmic powers are quite mundane. Yes, it’s great to have a clergyman at the party, especially when you’re immortal and don’t want to spend eternity with a misplaced broken leg or permanently missing eye. But in the movie, at least, the Eternals appear to be tough and trained enough not to hurt themselves as much in combat, leaving Ajak to stay behind and repair the occasional superficial wound. If he got more involved in mortal affairs, his healing abilities could be more exciting. (Can the movie version of the character cure diseases, for example?) Instead, she is primarily the Eternals’ low-grade magic field medic and the communication link with their great red robot god, an important role, but not it is likely to be high on anyone’s. fantasy hero project.

9. Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani)

Power: literally finger guns

This is where it could be argued that some of the Eternals have unbilled special powers that make them cooler than they appear: given Kingo’s lighthearted dealings with humanity, he might as well have some sort of enhanced charisma or powers of manipulation to it. they make it especially nice to be around. (Just having Kumail Nanjiani in the role pretty much counts as giving Kingo an extra super power.) But in terms of the golden god special effects abilities everyone has, the most important thing about Kingo is firing bench lasers with his fingers. He’s a smaller, more limited, and specific version of the powers that some of his other teammates have, and he seems kind of silly. Too, Eternal It never really lets you do anything nice with your digital pistols. He is only there in battles, attacking monsters while other people do the heavy lifting.

8. Gilgamesh (Don Lee)

Power: super punch, apparently

Gilgamesh is definitely stronger and more durable than the other Eternals, but like Kingo, he has fairly limited cosmic power – he can make a shiny gold glove around his fist and then hit things. Pretty badass when she goes into melee with a huge squirming monster, but she’s a one-trick pony in combat, where she has two moves: hit the thing and hit it again, harder. Her culinary skills, her loyalty to her troubled friend Thena, and her overall philosophical affability seem most useful for survival.

7. Druig (Barry Keoghan)

Power: mind control

It’s hard to qualify Druig’s powers without going into the morality of mind control. Can something be a cool power if it is fundamentally unethical? There’s a reason the comic book version of Druig has been consistently evil, from the 1970s to Neil Gaiman’s 2007 reinvention of Jack Kirby’s characters. The movie version is more troublesome and bitter than sadistic and monstrous, and it’s a big open moral question that the movie doesn’t solve: is it doing humanity any good by controlling people to prevent them from killing each other?

Regardless, in terms of fighting the Deviants, his power is almost useless as it doesn’t seem to work on them at all. The best he can do is force humans to fight for him, support his team’s front-line fighters by getting civilians out of the way faster, or make people forget about the Eternals after they move. His power has far more applications outside of combat than his teammates’ abilities, but those applications are quite fast.

6. Thena (Angelina Jolie)

Powers: makes weapons, fights very well

Is Thena’s acrobatic grace and skill with weapons in the film meant to be a cosmic power, or simply the result of endless practice and monomaniac obsession with war? Either way, she’s the flashiest fighter in the bunch, which counts for something, and her ability to spin elaborate arms and golden armor out of nowhere comes in handy for battling things that constantly change shape. This ability would rank higher if there was any feeling that it could create something other than weapons, but again, it is unclear if that is a limit to his cosmic powers or to his imagination.

5. Ikaris (Richard Madden)

Power: Eye-lasers, flight

Why are eye lasers the power of assholes? The Cyclops from the X-Men is a grumpy idiot, Boys‘Homelander is a murderous tyrant, Red eye he is an absolute supervillain, Thanos and Darkseid they both get lightning bolts in the eyes in the comics, and even Superman has his nasty side. (Yes, yes, “heat vision” “Energy rays”, and “Omega beams” They’re not technically “lasers,” but it all amounts to the same thing that makes your eyes fly.) The point is, comic book writers don’t like people who shoot things from their eyes.

Ikaris’s gaze of cosmic energy is quite intimidating, although it seems to limit him a bit in battles as he has to keep looking directly at whatever he is fighting, and that is not always practical when trying to drive an opponent away from a fight. . (Or run away). And it could be more impressive if it left a more visible mark on the Derailleurs, or had some use other than punching holes in things. But as the only Eternal who can fly straight, he’s above average in the ranking department.

4. Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry)

Power: Technology ???

Phastos wins the “one of these things is not like the other” award for the cosmic powers of Eternals, because it is unclear what exactly their technological powers are in the film, and if they have any limitations. Can you do anything you can imagine? He sometimes uses his cosmic powers to create technological objects, such as his floating springboards in the opening act of the film, or the electric restraint weapons that he uses in the final conflict. Sometimes you just create shiny gold planes (gold prints?) For the mechanisms you’ve envisioned.

He seems to be super smart and super imaginative compared to some of the other Eternals, but is that a power or a personality? (Could Thena do what he does if she wasn’t obsessively concentrating on the slashity and stabbity stuff?) It really doesn’t matter, he’s one of the most useful and variable Eternals, and though his powers don’t come into play for as long as the other deviant fights, he can contribute more to the team than most in terms of expanding his options and solving his problems. He also has more to contribute to humanity, if the rules of Ajak and humanity’s inherent destructiveness do not hold him back.

3. Makkari (Lauren Ridloff)

Power: superspeed

Who doesn’t love a good superspeed? The only thing wrong with Makkari’s powers is that, like most speed-oriented heroes, he seems a bit bored with the way the rest of the world operates at such a slow pace. Eternal It takes a heartbeat to show that her cosmic speed doesn’t just allow her to hit an opponent a thousand times while he still realizes she’s in a fight, and doesn’t just let her run around the world in the blink of an eye. It also allows him to read at a breakneck pace, which explains his tireless search for new knowledge. Super speed is a reliable power fantasy, but finally having time to read everything makes it even better.

2. Sprite (Lia McHugh)

Power: illusion

Sprite doesn’t really enjoy its ability to create completely compelling simulations of seemingly anything you can imagine, and it’s a shame, because it’s a great power to have. Where his teammates have to focus on pretty much the same Deviant punches, bench benches, or googly eyes every time, Sprite can engage his creativity in every fight, with one of the Eternals most flexible powers. His intangible illusions cannot directly harm his enemies, but he has endless ways to confuse, distract, and disable them. And in a pinch, it can disappear entirely, essentially giving Sprite the coveted power of invisibility as a free bonus.

On top of that, your abilities have more potential than anyone else’s in terms of allowing you to live an interesting life, whether you want to mesmerize crowds with narration that comes with a 3D light show or hit a bar in disguise. . It is not the fault of her powers that she is trapped in the body of a child, her situation is not enviable, but her ability is still baller.

1. Sersi (Gemma Chan)

Power: transformation of matter

The ability to turn anything non-living into anything else seems ridiculously out of date for a team where the whole one-person thing is hitting things really hard. And when Sersi gets an upgrade and loses that “non-living” limitation, it basically becomes WatchmenDoctor Manhattan, but without your creativity or your confidence. Most of the people who watch Eternal You may find more interesting uses for this power than Sersi, given its almost endless possibilities. At least find a way to make it count in the final battle. But come on, Sersi. You have incredible ability. Have a little fun!